Monthly Archives: March 2012

The Newtown Cultural Arts Commission established the Newtown Arts Festival to promote and support the local arts and community through arts-inspired entertainment, education, exhibits, and sales. The festival will showcase all forms of creative expression, such as music, dance, theatre, literary & visual arts in the setting of a town-wide celebration. Proceeds will support grants and scholarships for local artists and arts organizations, future festivals, and other work of the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission.

Join us as a vendor, demonstrator, volunteer or attendee for our first annual outdoor Newtown Arts Festival, September 15 & 16, 2012, on the Fairfield Hills campus. To find out more about this exciting event, contact Donna Mangiafico at djmangiafico@aol.com.

Note to Vendors: Boothswill be assigned a fee based on their location at the festival. A tiered pricing plan includes sites that vary in price from $150 for prime spots to $50. The majority of booth sites are at the mid-range price point, $75. All interested vendors should contact Stacey Olszewski (staceyolszewski@yahoo.com) to discuss vendor opportunities and obtain an application. We will continue to use the jury process and all vendors must offer an art-related product or service.

The Newtown Cultural Arts Commission is pleased to announce that Newtown resident Tracy Van Buskirk is the chosen winner for the 2012 Newtown Arts Festival art contest for her “Life in Newtown” themed entry entitled Ram Pasture. Van Buskirk wanted to capture the town’s serenity and pleasure. With her block print of Ram Pasture, she captured this tranquil mood and more! Her Asian-style rendition of this early burg landmark with its soft pastels reminds viewers of many beautiful days walking or playing by the pasture’s pond or feeding the ducks. Continue reading →

I would like to clarify any misunderstandings about the proposal to change the way the State funds arts organizations.

Let me be clear, the proposed budget does not eliminate funding for arts organizations.

Our goals in making these changes are simple – we want to create a system that demands accountability standards and sets performance benchmarks for organizations that receive state money. The current system of simply allocating an earmark does not do that. It does not ask the organization to disclose how that money is being spent, how much the funding provided by the state contributes to the entirety of that organization’s budget or how many people take part in a given exhibit or event. Continue reading →